Michael beshoae



(No Model.)

M. BESHOAR.

CROSSING GUARD FOR'RAILWAY'S.

Patent-ed Dec. 13, 1887.

l vi bneo-aea N. PETERS. Pimb-Lnno n m, Washington. \xc

UN TED STATES PATENT O FICE.

MICHAEL BESHOAR, OF TRINIDAD, COLORADO.

CROSSING-GUARD FOR RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,772, dated December13, 1887.

Application filed April 18, 1887.

'and useful Improvements in Crossing-Guards for Railways; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, which will enable others skilled inthe.art to which it appertains to make and-use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a railwaycrossingprovided with my improved guard or gate. Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a transverse Vertical sectional view on line a: at,Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a similar sectional View of one of the trenchesand its cover, taken on line y 1, Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

My invent-ion has relation to that class of gates or guards forrailway-crossings or, similar places in which bars or chains or ropesare stretched across the roadway at both sides of the track by windingthe said chains or ropes upon a Windlass; and it consists in theimproved construction and combination of parts of such a gate or guard,as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying'drawings, the numeral 1 indicates an upright casing,which is secured at one side of the railway-track and at one side of theroadway, and three upright posts, 2, are secured in the three remainingcorners of the intersecting roads. A Windlass, 3, is journaled in theupper end of the casing and has its drum divided in three portionsseparated by suitable fianges, 4, and this Windlass is provided with asuitable crank, 5, for revolving it, and with a ratchet-wheel, 6,engaged by a pawl, 7, for the purpose of holding the Windlass when theguards are raised.

Two ropes or chains, 8 and 9, are secured to two of'the sections of thedrum and wind upon the same, one, 8, passing out through an aperture,10, in the upper end of the easing and being secured at the other end tothe post at the opposite side of the roadway, having, preferably, a bar,11, forming a part of it, the said bar spanning the roadway when SerialNo. 235,199. (No model.)

raised. The other rope or chain,9, passes from the Windlass down throughthe casing and under a pulley, 12, in the lower end of the same,whereupon it passes under the track in asuitable trench, 13, and at theother side of the track the rope or chain passes under a pulley, 15, andup through the post at that side and over a pulley, 16, in the upper endof the post. This chain or rope is likewise preferably provided with abar, 17, forming a part of it, and the other end of the chain at the endof the bar is secured to the post at the farther side of the roadway. Itwill thusnbe seen that when the Windlass is revolved, winding the ropesor chains upon the drum-sections, the

said ropes or chains and their bars will beraised from the ground andstretched across the roadway, stopping the passage across the track.

A- third rope or chain, 18, is secured to the third drum-section of theWindlass, and is wound in the opposite direction to the other ropes orchains, and this rope or chain passes under a pulley, 19, at the lowerend of the upright casing and over a pulley, 20, in the transversetrench, having its end secured to the rope or chain passing in thetrench; and it will be seen that when the ropes or chains are unwoundfrom the Windlass this third rope or chain will be wound upon theWindlass and drag the rope or chain back in the trench, so that theportion of the rope or chain spanning the road- Y way and its bar maydrop by their own gravity without having to drag the portion of thechain or rope in the trench.

Trenches 21 pass across the roadway at both sides of the track parallelwith the same be-. tween the upright posts, and these trenches may besuitably lined with wood or iron or other material, and covers 22 arehinged in the rabbeted edges of the trenches nearest to the track andmay cover the trenches and have their upper surfaces flush with theroadway, resting with their-edges inthe rabbeted edges 23 of thetrenches. These covers are provided with rods 24 near their ends,projecting from the free edges of their upper surfaces, and thehinge-edges of the covers are preferably provided with boards or seriesof arms, 26, at right angles to the under sides of the covers.

It will be seen that when the ropes or chains are wound upon thewindlass and stretched across {the roadway the bars in the chains willraise the covers and bear against the rods of the covers, keeping themupright while the chains are stretched, and when the chains or ropes areslaekened and lowered the covers and arms will tilt back again, droppingover the trenches, the weight of the chain or rope or bar falling uponthe board or series of arms at the hinge-edge of each cover, serving todepress the said board or series of arms and to thus tilt the cover overthe trench. In this manner the ropes or chains and their bars may becovered and protected when lowered, and the covers and their rods willserve to form parts of the guards or gates,together with the chains orropes and their bars.

If desired, the pulleys and the drumsections may be replaced by sprocketwheels when chains are used in the guard, the ends of the chains hangingdown loose in that case instead of being secured to the drum-sections,and numerous modifications in the construction of details of the devicemay be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States- 1. In a guard or gate forrailway-crossings, the combination of an upright casing having aWindlass journaled in its upper end and provided with a crank andratchet-Wheel and pawl and having guide-pulleys journaled at its lowerend, an upright at the opposite side of the track having guide-pulleysat its, upper and lower ends, uprights at the opposite sides of theroadway, a rope or chain secured to the Windlass and winding upon thesame and secured at its other end to the opposite upright, a rope orchain passing under the guide-pulley in the lower end of the casing andunder the track and up through the other upright over its upperguide-pulley to the upright opposite to the upright with the pulleys,and a rope or chain secured to the Windlass and winding upon it in theopposite direction to the two ropes or chains and passing under aguide-pulley at the foot of the casing and over a guide-pulley in thetrench under the track, having its ends secured to the rope or chainpassing under the said pulley in the trench, as andfor the purpose shownand set forth.

2. In a guard or gate for railway-crossings, the combination of a chain,rope, or bar across the roadway, having means for raising and loweringit, a trench for the reception of the lowered rope, chain, or bar,having rabbeted edges, and a cover hinged to the edge of the trenchnearest the track and resting in the rabbeted edges and formed withoutwardlyprojecting rods near its ends projecting beyond the free edgeand with a board or series of arms projecting at a right angle to thecover at the hinge-edge and upon its under side for the bar or rope orchain to bear against when lowered, as and for the purpose shown and setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoafiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL BESHOAR.

\Vitnesses:

WM. W. FITCH, ALBERT A. WHITE.

